Misadventures in Kalmar
by Shadgirl2
Summary: I woke up one day without any idea who I am or where I came from. Nobody can answer any of my questions, either. To make things worse, these four guys keep trying to kidnap me. I don't know who they are, but they seem to know me. What the heck's going on?
1. Hospitalized

**Shadgirl2: So...Midna says that updates will be slow for our other story, "A Second Chance."**

**Midna: Updates on "A Second Chance" will be slow because of duels, which we have to write now.**

**Shadgirl2: So we've got another collab (because I don't write stories on my own, I'm not that good). It takes place in a future Earth (like, millions of years in the future, when continental drift has made all 7 continents one again, like Pangaea). The world we know exists only in the history books—**

**Midna: No-so-vague references to American history appear at a later time.**

**Shadgirl2: Yes, thank you, Midna. Anyway, it's me and her writing.**

**Midna: So, without any further ado, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: We don't own Yugioh GX.**

**WARNING: OC**

* * *

The first thing I remember, I woke up with a major headache, and the lights in the room—along with the white walls and white...well, everything—didn't really help much. I'm not sure why, exactly, but seeing all that white had me freaked out for a bit. That is, until a woman came in wearing a pink nurse's outfit. She had auburn hair pulled back in a ponytail and gentle green eyes.

"So, you're finally awake, are you?" she asked me. "How are you feeling, dear?"

"Uh... My head hurts," I told her.

"No surprise there. You were in a serious car accident. You're lucky you're still alive. Can I get you anything to ease the pain?"

"Uh...sure?"

She nodded. "Wait right here. I'll go get you something."

She walked out, leaving me to wonder about what she had just said. I didn't remember being in any sort of car accident. Then again...

_A car accident? Why don't I remember it? Come to think of it, I don't remember anything, _I realized suddenly._ I...can't even remember who I am..._

While I was trying to remember who I was—which only made my headache worse—a doctor walked in and asked, "So, son, how are you feeling today? The nurse said your head was bothering you?"

"Uh, yeah, a little," I told him.

He started checking me over, checking my blood pressure as he said, "I see. Does anything else hurt or feel funny, young man?"

"No."

He took the blood pressure cuff off me, then put on his stethoscope. "That's good to hear. Because you were a mess when we found you." He lifted my shirt and continued his examination.

The nurse came back in just as the doctor finished up. "So, how is he, doctor?" she asked.

"Well, he's doing a lot better than when he first came to us. Now, if we can only get his name, we can call his family to come pick him up." He turned to me and asked, "So, son, what is it? Who do you want us to contact?"

Great. Just great. I knew he was going to ask that, but I didn't have an answer. I mean, I hadn't thought about my family, per se, but I'd been wondering what my name was. Guess my family would know that...if I could just remember who the heck they were.

"I...I don't know. I can't remember."

"What was that, young man?" the doctor asked.

"Surely you can remember something about yourself," the nurse said. "Your family? Do you have a mom? Dad? Any siblings you know about?"

The more she asked, the more I wondered. "I don't know."

"Do you know where you were born?" the doctor tried. "Where you live? What kind of a life you used to lead?"

Oh, yeah, sure, I totally knew where I was born. No, I didn't even know where I was, for crying out loud! I mean, I'd figured out that I was in a hospital, but what part of the world that hospital was in was still a great mystery to me. For all I knew, I was born in a spaceship from the planet Mordar.

"No."

"Then perhaps you know your birthday," the nurse suggested. "How old you are? Anything?"

"Can you remember anything at all, son?"

I shook my head, now wondering what the date even was. Great. I was just getting more and more lost the more questions they asked. "No, nothing."

The doctor turned to the nurse and lowered his voice, apparently aiming to keep the conversation hushed—well, that worked about as well as interrogating me because I heard every word they said.

"This is bad. He has no memory of anything before he wound up here."

Yeah, that was true.

"Is it amnesia?" the nurse asked.

The doctor nodded. "I'm afraid so. Which is made worse by the fact that he didn't have any ID on his person when we found him. Getting him the care he needs will be difficult without the people he knows in life there to help him."

Great. Well, wasn't I just a genius? Running around getting into car accidents and losing my memory without any ID. Whoever my parents were, they must not have raised me very well. I sounded pretty stupid to my own ears just then.

"Then maybe I can help," the nurse suggested. "Let him come home with me for now. I'll do whatever it takes to find his family and help him through this."

"Are you sure, Elise? This could be a tougher job than you think."

Nurse Elise said, "Well, we can't just drop the poor thing off at the shelter. He'd never fit in there, all things considered. Please. Let me take care of him. It'll be our little secret."

The doctor thought about it for a minute. For a bit, it looked like he was gonna say no, which would have left me...where, exactly?

Luckily I didn't have to find out. "Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt," the doctor said. "Alright, Elise, but be warned. This isn't how we usually operate, so keep it under wraps. We could _both_ get fired if you don't."

"Okay, thank you, sir! I promise I won't let you down."

They both turned back to me, and the doctor said, "Well, son, in light of the circumstances, our nurse Elise will be looking after you until we can find your caregivers." Careful choice of words, there, doc. "But if, after awhile, we discover that there aren't any, you'll be taken to our local children's shelter and looked after there until such a time as someone decides to take you in or you grow up and move out. Do you understand?"

Did I understand? Well, I guess it wasn't that hard of a concept to grasp. Stay with the nurse until my family was found (or lack of family was determined) and then live in orphanage until I grew up. In practice, though, it was a little more complicated. Like, how did he think they were gonna find out I didn't have a family? Were they just going to drop me at an orphanage if nobody showed up in a few months? And I didn't have a clue how old I was. How was I supposed to know when I "grew up?"

But I didn't say any of this. I just nodded. "Yeah."

"Very good," Elise said. "But, before we do anything, we should really figure out what to call you. After all, people will start to wonder what's going on if you don't have a name, right?"

Well, I don't know about you, but I thought it sounded pretty fair that they should wonder. After all, I was wondering what was going on, and nobody could clarify anything for me. Why should I have to be the only one who was totally lost and confused? Besides, the idea of being given a new name—even though I didn't remember my old one—was...uncomfortable to me, for some reason, and I shifted at the suggestion. But I knew she was right.

"So? Do you have a name in mind that you'd like to be called for now?" she asked. And then the uncomfortable suggestions from a stranger began. "How about I call you Henry? What do you think?"

What did I think? No. N. O. No. That felt so wrong in so many ways. "Uh..."

"That's a no, then? Then how about Gary? Is that name any better?"

You ever try talking to someone from another country and then realize that they're speaking another language? One that you don't understand? That's what this whole thing felt like to me, like all of the names she came up with were a different language. Like, I mean, literally, these names felt foreign to me. Like they weren't used in my homeland. I shifted again and started trying to remember what my name was, or at least my initial.

"Okay? How about...Sam?"

I shook my head, knowing I wasn't any closer to figuring out my real name but not wanting to be called by some foreign word. "I don't know..."

"Kevin?"

I shrugged.

"George?"

I shook my head, very sure I didn't want to be called that. But...the "G" sounded familiar...

"No? Then how about...John? Do you like that one any better?"

I blinked as something came back to me suddenly. "It starts with a J," I said.

Elise grinned and said, "Oh, I get it. You're trying to remember your real name right now, aren't you?"

I shifted again and admitted, "Well, everything feels wrong."

"Then perhaps some J names will feel better to you. How's Jesse?"

"Mmm..." I shook my head.

"Jonah?"

I shook my head again.

She put her hands on her hips and said, "Kid, you're making this harder than it needs to be. All you've got to do is pick a name."

I shifted guiltily. Sure, she could say that—she knew her name. "Sorry."

"Okay. Enough with the guessing games. The next name I throw at you is what I'm going to call you unless you remember your real name naturally. Okay?"

"Okay," I agreed, figuring I'd annoyed her enough for one day. I mean, she was the only reason I wouldn't be going straight to an orphanage, so I should probably try to be nice.

"Good. Then your name is Jaden. It starts with a J and seems like it will fit you. Sound good?"

I nodded. It still didn't feel right, but it would do for now. Hopefully I'd remember who I was sooner or later—preferably sooner.

She sighed, apparently relieved that I hadn't said no to that name, too. "Good! Now, then, Jaden, I'm going to go talk to the doctor about what we need to do to set this up. I'll be back to discharge you shortly. In the meantime, why don't you take this medicine and take it easy for awhile, okay?" she said, handing me a couple of pills and a glass of water.

I was about to say that the doctor was here, but then I realized he wasn't. He must have left sometime while we were talking. "Okay," I said instead, taking the medicine and the water.

As I popped the pills in my mouth and chased them down with every last drop of that water—I hadn't even realized how thirsty I was until then—Elise nodded and headed out. This, of course, left me to my muddled and confused thoughts, which wasn't exactly helping the medicine get rid of that headache I still had.

_So I'm living with a nurse for now...but what if I don't have any family?_

That was when something she had said hit me hard—kid, in a car accident. With no ID. Meaning no driver's license. Meaning I couldn't have, legally, been driving. Meaning there had to have been someone else in the car...

_Wait a second, didn't they say I was in a car accident? Who was driving? Oh, _please_ tell me it wasn't my parents!_

Then things got weird. A faint voice said,_ "Kuri kuri..."_

"Huh?" I looked around, but didn't see anyone. "Who's there?"

Silence answered me. I waited another moment to see if I'd hear it again, but I didn't.

"Must be my imagination," I decided.

That was when Elise came back. "Okay, Jaden, we're all set! Just as soon as I unhook you, we can get going, okay?"

And that was when I realized that there were all sorts of wires on me and an IV in my arm. Man, I was real perceptive that day, wasn't I?

"Um, first, was there anyone else in the car?" I asked. Hopefully I was just breaking the law.

"Well, there were two men we found," she answered, unhooking everything that I hadn't even realized I was hooked up to. "Both dead, I'm afraid, so we're not sure what happened. But don't worry! You're okay now."

Okay. So either I was adopted by a gay couple and both my parents were officially dead, or that was my father and some other relative, or my father and a friend, or... You know what, there were a lot of possibilities. Personally, I was hoping for the "nobody I knew" possibility.

"Okay."

"So, Jaden, shall we go?"

I nodded and stood up. I guess I moved too fast, though, because I nearly fell on my face.

Elise caught me and helped me get my balance. "You alright, Jaden? Do you need a crutch or something?"

"N-no, I'll be okay."

"If you say so. Just...try not to fall on your face on the way to the car, okay?" she teased.

"Okay."

Nurses. Always thinking you need a crutch. I wasn't sure where that thought came from, but I guess it just meant I'd been in hospitals a lot. Either I was really clumsy or I suffered from some sort of condition that I couldn't remember.

Man, amnesia stinks.


	2. Temporary Home

**Shadgirl2: Okay, somebody pointed out that they don't think hospitals work the way the one in this story did. Thanks for pointing that out. Just to clarify, though, I'm not a doctor, Midna's not a doctor, and neither of us spend a lot of time in hospitals (thankfully).**

**Midna: Also, this story takes place in the future, so there have been a lot of advancements made in medicine.**

**Shadgirl2: So, with that cleared up, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: We don't own Yugioh GX. Elise belongs to me (Shadgirl2).**

**WARNING: OC, AU (forgot to put that part in last chapter)**

* * *

I'll admit it. There was something about being in a car that had me wondering more about the accident. So I started asking all sorts of questions on the drive to Elise's place—all of them involving what happened. Looking back, I'm pretty sure she couldn't answer most of them. Like...who those other guys were, where the accident happened, what exactly caused it...the list goes on and on. Oh, and the last question was the weirdest one I'd asked that day: What kind of car was it?

Turns out, though, that was the most important question, and the one with the most confusing answer.

"Well, Jaden, to answer your questions, the car we found you in wasn't even a car at all. It was a truck."

For a second, I thought she meant a pickup truck. Her next words told me that, no, for whatever reason, I was in an 18-wheeler.

"And you were trapped in the back of the truck, for some reason. See, when the authorities got to the crash site, they saw the vehicle lying on its side about a mile off the highway, and it looked as though a storm had ripped through it. The whole thing was bent in and falling apart, and the back, where you were, had a long, thin crack in it, which is how they knew you were there. They saw you lying there, unconscious and badly injured, through the crack."

You know the funny thing about amnesia? You don't remember what caused it. So, since this was all news to me, I was completely absorbed—and trying to remember what the heck had gone down.

"Anyway, the squad had to pry the truck open, then they pulled you out of there, rushed you to the hospital, and you'd been unconscious ever since. Why, when we first got you, you had to have some emergency surgery done, and you'd been in ICU for the first five days you were with us. Good thing, too, because the pain from your injuries was apparently so bad, it even disturbed you in your sleep. You were writhing in pain, even though you were still out of it. Really, after all that, it is a miracle that you're still alive."

That all sounded weird to me. I mean, the storm, I figured that was probably a tornado or something, maybe one of those weird superstorms we sometimes got. And all that stuff after the accident I'd leave to a doctor to explain since I didn't get it. But the truck thing...

"What was I doing there?" I wondered.

"Hm? Say something, Jaden?" Elise asked.

I shook my head. "No. Nothing."

Elise pulled up to the curb then and parked the car. "Ah. We're here."

I got out of the car and looked around at the suburban neighborhood. I'm pretty sure everybody's lawn was spray-painted or fake because it can't be possible to get your grass that green, can it? Other than the abnormally green yards, everything else seemed normal. The houses were well-kept, there were kids playing in the very green grass, and a couple of people walking dogs.

Elise walked over and stood beside me. "So, Jaden, what do you think? It's a nice place, isn't it?" she asked.

It took me a second to realize she was referring to her own house, which is also when I realized that it was right in front of me. So I looked at the house, then looked again because I'd never seen a house with a pink roof that I could remember. The siding of the two-story building was yellow, with a pink awning over the front porch supported by white metal supports. A stone walkway led through the yard up to the porch.

"Yeah," I said.

"Good. Well, come on, then," she said, heading down the walkway. "Let's get you settled in, okay?"

I followed her down the path.

So, okay, there was a row of hedges on the left, separating Elise's yard from her neighbor's, and I had noticed a woman with long brown hair on the other side of that yard, trimming some hedges identical to the ones on this side. What I didn't notice was her daughter, who must have been crouching earlier. As I walked past the hedges, I heard a rustle from them and turned in time to see a girl stand up. Her blond hair fell down to her lower back, hazel eyes shining. She was wearing a short-sleeved green shirt, open in the front, with a pink hooded shirt underneath, along with the cutest smile I had ever seen (which wasn't saying much, considering it was about the only smile I could actually remember seeing, but still).

I stopped and stared as she wiped some sweat from her forehead.

"Almost done over here, Mom!" she called over her shoulder to the other woman. "How's your side coming!?"

"Oh, not bad!" she called, eying the white picket fence that walled-off their yard from the front. "The fence could use a little more work, but that's your dad's job to fix!"

The girl laughed. "Yeah, I'll say! When do you think he'll remember to do that!?"

"Probably when pigs fly, dear. You know how that man is, after all. He'd forget his head if it wasn't screwed onto his shoulders."

As I marveled over the fact that a saying that old was still useful (seriously, nobody had tried to make genetically modified flying pigs to spite their mother for saying they'd get a date when pigs fly or something?), the girl laughed again.

"Yeah. That's for sure!" she said.

"What are you looking at, Jaden?" Elise asked with a grin, drawing me back to the real world.

_When did she get there?_ I wondered. I mean, I was pretty sure she had kept walking when I stopped. Guess she noticed I wasn't following. "Uh...nothing?" I said, looking in the exact opposite direction of that girl.

Too late for a coverup, though. Elise looked over there and smiled. "Want to go introduce yourself? It's okay if you do."

I thought about it for a minute. Introduce myself? That would be a lot easier if I knew who I was. I mean, if I introduced myself as Jaden, then one day remembered my real name and told her, then I'd have to explain about the amnesia thing... Aw, I could worry about that later. Saying hi wasn't going to kill me!

"Yeah, okay," I said.

So I turned and headed over to the hedges, but the girl was turning to leave about the same time.

"Hey!" I called, hurrying over before she could take off.

She stopped and turned, looking confused. "Yes? Can I help you?"

"Uh, I'm...Jaden. I just moved in next door, so I thought I'd say hi?"

Did I say this couldn't kill me? Sorry, my bad. The girl looked even more confused, raising an eyebrow and everything. What, was it that weird for somebody to move in?

"Jaden? And you just moved in?" she repeated, as if trying to make sure she'd heard me right. "So, what? Did Elise adopt a child or something? 'Cause I know that's still her house. She never said anything about moving, after all."

"I'm staying with her for now," I answered. I mean, honesty's supposed to be the best policy, right? "It's...kinda complicated."

And there went that eyebrow again! Guess I should've just said that Elise had adopted me. "Complicated?"

Well, by now, I was kinda starting to regret this. I mean, this wasn't going the way I'd planned at all. But I figured I might as well keep talking. "I guess you could say I'm lost?"

She stared at me for a long time, like she was trying to bore into my soul and find out what my true, evil intentions were. Was everyone in the neighborhood that suspicious of newcomers? If so, I didn't think it was any wonder nobody ever moved in.

Finally she said, "Okay? Well, then, welcome to the neighborhood I...guess."

"So what's your name?" I asked, trying to salvage this attempt at conversation.

She hesitated, which really made me think she thought I was up to something devious. "Asuka," she said at last. "Asuka Tenjoin."

"Nice to meet you."

"Right," she said, turning away slightly. "Well, good luck trying to find your family. See ya."

She headed back inside her house, and I was pretty sure that would be the last time Asuka Tenjoin and I would ever talk to each other. That is, unless I wanted to find myself in court. So I headed back over to where Elise was still standing on the walkway, waiting for me.

"Well? How'd it go?" she asked.

I shrugged. "I'm not too sure I've got good people skills."

Apparently Elise thought that was funny because she laughed. "Don't worry, Jaden! You'll get the hang of it. Just give it some time, okay?"

"Yeah, okay."

"Well, Jaden, shall we go inside now?" At my nod, she said, "Good. Come on, then." She turned and continued toward her house. "Let's get you settled in now."

We headed up to the porch, and Elise dug around in her purse for a minute for the key. As she went to unlock the door, I thought I caught something moving out of the corner of my eye. But when I looked, it was gone.

_What was that?_

_"__Kuri kuri,"_ I heard again.

"Huh?" Like last time, I looked around for the source of that...strange, yet familiar language. And, like last time, I saw nothing.

"Hm?" Elise looked at me, opening the door. "Something wrong, dear?"

"Uh, no," I answered, turning to her.

She headed inside, and I followed behind, still wondering about that voice.

The entrance hall had a hardwood floor, which extended through a doorway in the back. There was a staircase running along the right wall, with a smooth wooden banister. I walked a little farther in and figured out that the door in back led to the dining room and kitchen, There was a door on the left of the entrance hall that led into a room with a teal carpet. In there was a blue couch and a matching armchair, along with a glass coffee table. A flat-screen TV was mounted on the far wall. The walls, from what I had seen so far, were all yellow, so I was pretty sure I knew what her favorite color was. Sad, considering I didn't know mine at the time.

"Nice," I said.

"Thank you, Jaden. Glad you like it. Because you're going to be staying here for awhile," Elise said. "Well, then. Why don't I show you to your room, and you can do whatever you need to to get settled in? That is, to make yourself comfortable, of course."

"Okay," I said, thinking that all I'd need to do to make myself comfortable would be to flop on that couch and watch TV.

Elise led me upstairs, where there were three rooms—one with the door shut, which I guessed was hers; a bathroom with (surprise) yellow walls and a white-tiled floor; and...a room with some old furniture, boxes, and a round, red rug. The walls were yellow, like every other wall in this place, and the floor was hardwood, like the hallway outside.

"Well, here we are," she said. "It's nothing fancy, but it's the best I can do on such short notice."

"It's fine," I told her. "Thanks for taking me in."

"You're welcome, dear. Now, I'm going to go do some shopping, so try to be good while I'm gone, okay? You're free to use anything in this house that interests you, but don't go making a huge mess, okay? A clean house is a happy house, I always say!"

"Okay."

"I'll be back shortly. Take care til then, okay?"

Without waiting for an answer, she headed back downstairs. I took another look around the room, then headed down to the living room and sat down on the couch, which, it turned out, was insanely comfortable. Hey, there wasn't a bed along with the random furniture upstairs in my new room. Maybe I could just sleep on the couch.

Anyway, I was kind of hoping that watching TV might jog my memory somehow, like maybe I'd see something I'd watched before, or something that somehow related to my life.

Well. An old-timey Spanish soap opera didn't help, though it did make me wonder why I could actually understand what they were saying. Guess I spoke Spanish. With that exciting realization, I changed the channel.

New vacuum cleaner! Oh, boy! Ten times the suction, and—yeah, next channel.

Some kid with blue hair and gray eyes hidden behind glasses was on the screen. One of his eyes was blackened, and he was wiping blood off the corner of his mouth when I landed on this channel. There was a blond woman in a suit standing beside him, a microphone in hand.

"As you've already seen, bullying is a serious problem in the town of Tiller," the woman said. "Just listen to the statements from some of the victims."

"Actually, miss, I'm the only victim..." the kid said.

My eyes widened. "The _only_ victim?"

"Hmm. I see," the woman said. "And what makes you believe that you're the only one being bullied around here? Surely there are others, aren't there?"

The kid shrugged. "Don't know. If there are, they take it out on me also. I can't go one block around here without somebody picking on me. And that's only the little kids. The older ones do a lot worse to me than that. I'm constantly shoved in mailboxes, slammed in dumpsters, and beat to a pulp on a daily basis. There are some days, even, that I dare not leave the house for fear that my current injuries will get worse, and I'll have to go to the hospital or something!"

"That's just sick!" I said. I didn't understand how they could fit that kid in a mailbox, unless it was one of those big ones you sometimes saw on street corners. Then again, those still had small openings... Aw, man, if that part was true, then these guys defied the laws of the universe when they were picking on this kid!

"Well, that's a little more than we were expecting," the woman said. "Hopefully there's someone out there who—"

I didn't hear the rest of that—somebody started pounding on the front door right then.

"Huh?" I got up to go see who it was.

That's probably the only reason they didn't get what they were after.


	3. The First Emperors

**Shadgirl2: Sorry for the wait.**

**Midna: We've both been busy. I know this was up yesterday, but Shadgirl2 decided she wasn't satisfied with it, so she took it down and had me do more writing.**

**Shadgirl2: Well, you've gotta admit, I was right.**

**Midna: Yeah, yeah. Still annoying, though.**

**Shadgirl2: What can I say? I thought you could do better, and I was right.**

**Midna: Anyway, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: We don't own Yugioh GX. Fire Samurai is ours.**

* * *

The door flew open before I got to it. The guys standing in the doorway didn't look too friendly, either. One was tall and skinny, with long red hair slicked back from his face. One strand of his hair spiked up into the air, then hung down in his face, where his eyes were covered by yellow-tinted glasses. He was wearing a dark trench coat. The other was a big guy with brown hair under a baseball cap that was sitting sideways on his head. He had a white collared shirt under a yellow hoodie. They both looked at me as though they'd just won the lottery. Both were wearing duel disks, marking them as duelists.

"Ha!" the red-head said. "Thought you could get away from us that easily, huh? Well, tough luck! We weren't about to let some crash keep us from finding you, kid."

I backed up. "H-huh?"

"Yeah. No kidding," the other guy said. "That was some storm those guys got into, huh?"

The red-head growled. "Can it, Iwamaru!" he said to his friend. "This isn't the time to make small talk! We need to get this kid back to headquarters before the boss gets angry."

"Right!" Iwamaru said. "Let's get him. But, uh? Can we take this outside first? I'd hate to mess up such a lovely house."

Wait, he'd hate to mess up the house? Was he serious?

"Huh," the red-head said, looking around. "Now that you mention it, we probably should settle this outside. Come here, kid! We can fight out there!"

Apparently they were both serious. I couldn't figure out why that mattered, considering they were willing to bust into the house in the first place, but I didn't have time to worry about that just then. The red-head lunged forward, grabbing at me. I dodged, jumping backward out of range, and he fell on his face.

"I don't know who you guys are, but there's no way I'm doing what you want!" I said.

"Aw, come on, kid," Iwamaru said. "We'll mess up the house in here."

Sitting up, the other guy said, "Yeah! Can't you at least go outside so we can chase ya?"

Okay, talk about a stupid request. Why would I go outside to be chased by some guys who were after me when being inside was keeping them from doing much? "What do you want with me, anyway?"

"Come on, boy. Don't you remember? We want you to join our group, the Light Brigade, and we aren't taking no for an answer, either."

"Yeah!" Iwamaru agreed. "We need a fifth member. One that controls the Monarch of the Wind. Besides, if we don't get you back to headquarters soon, the boss will chew us out for messing up again! So why don't we do this the easy way, and you come quietly?"

I hesitated, wondering what they were talking about. Light Brigade? Was that some sort of secret club? What did they mean they needed another member? The name made it sound like they were trying to fight against some sort of evil, but then why were they trying to grab me? Was I just too stubborn for them, or were they afraid of their boss? I figured I should ask. Maybe they could tell me what was going on.

"Why do you need me?" I asked.

The red-head growled. "Enough! Forget worrying about messing up the place! I'm gonna drag the guy back by force! Iwamaru," he said, activating his duel disk. "Help me out, will ya!? We're burning daylight playing 20 questions with him!"

"Right! I've got your back, pal!" Iwamaru said, activating his disk as well. "Let's do this together!"

Well, so much for being safe inside, and so much for getting answers. They both summoned a monster. Iwamaru summoned Mine Golem, a green-armored earth monster. His friend summoned a monster I'd never seen before—a samurai in fire-red armor.

"Now, go!" the red-head said. "Capture him at once!"

I turned and ran for the back door.

"Don't let him get away!" Iwamaru commanded. "After him, Mine Golem!"

"Fire Samurai! Get him!"

They chased me through the kitchen and out the back door. I ran for the neighbors' house, the same place that Asuka girl lived, and pounded on the door. The other guys were gaining on me fast.

"You can run, but you can't hide!" the red-head yelled.

Those two monsters were closing in fast. The door opened, and a teenage boy stood there, with brown hair and eyes.

"Hey, bro," he said to me. "What—"

"Help!" I cut him off, glancing back over my shoulder. "These guys are...I don't know!"

Mine Golem picked me up then. The boy's eyes widened.

"H-hey! What's going on here!?" he asked, stepping outside.

"Aw, too bad," the red-head said, walking over. "Looks like ya lost. Now come with us! The master's waiting!"

"Let me go!" I cried, struggling against the monster's grip.

"Hey!" the boy called. "_What's_ going on here!?"

"Nothing to be concerned about, sir!" the red-head said. "Just taking care of some business, that's all. See, this kid's an escaped convict from Misgarth, and we were just escorting him back to the prison. Isn't that right, partner?"

I may not have remembered who I was, but I was sure that couldn't be true, especially given what they had told me. Now I knew: they couldn't be trusted. And I made another realization about them, too.

"Somehow I don't think that's true!" I said. "You guys were working with the guys who had me in the back of that truck?"

The boy's eyes widened, and I knew he didn't believe them anymore. "_What_!?"

"Okay. I think we're done here," the red-head said. "Take care of him for me, will ya? I'll deal with _this_ guy."

"Right! Whatever you say, Honomaru!" Iwamaru said to his ally. Then he turned to me. "Okay, let's go, boy! Off to see the boss!"

He started walking off, and his monster followed. I kept struggling in vain, trying to get free.

"It's just you and me now, dude," Honomaru said to the other boy. "Should've minded your own business. And, now, you're gonna pay for it." He slapped another card down on his duel disk, saying, "I summon Thestalos, the Firestorm Monarch! Show yourself!"

Bigger than his fire samurai but similar in appearance, Thestalos appeared, looming over the boy. It had 2400 attack points. The boy, however, didn't seem phased—he laughed.

"Oh, you do _not_ wanna pick a fight with me," he said. "So why don't you let that guy go and save yourselves some pain?"

It might have been easier to take him seriously if he hadn't sounded so cheery, like he was just talking to a friend and joking around. As it was, he seemed pretty non-threatening.

"What are you, nuts!?" Honomaru demanded. "We let this kid go, and that's _all_ we're gonna get! Now, are you gonna fight back or not? 'Cause I'm through playing around!"

The boy sighed. "Suit yourself." He pulled a duel disk, putting it on, and slapped down a monster. "I summon Red-Eyes Black Chick in attack mode!"

Iwamaru stopped and looked back as a red egg appeared. It hatched, revealing a black baby dragon. He and Honomaru stared, stunned, for a minute, then burst out laughing.

"Are you serious, dude!?" Honomaru laughed. "That thing can't even stand up to my Uncle David, let alone be a match for my monarch!"

"Yeah!" Iwamaru said, walking back over to Honomaru. "So why don't you give up now and save yourself the embarrassment!"

Man, this didn't look good for me. That guy was the only hope I had of getting away from these two. I just hoped he knew what he was doing.

He slapped himself in the head, smiling. "Oh, I'm sorry! Did I somehow forget to point out that I'm not finished yet?"

Honomaru and Iwamaru stopped laughing. "Huh?" they asked.

"'Cause here comes the best part! When my Red-Eyes Chick is face-up on the field, I get to summon the original one from my hand!"

"What!?"

"H-he can't be serious!" Iwamaru said. "Th-that card is—"

"That's right!" the boy cut him off. "I sacrifice my Red-Eyes Chick to summon my Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

The baby dragon grew up, turning into a full-size black dragon with red eyes. Its attack, 2400, made it an equal match for the monarch. Honomaru and Iwamaru both gasped, hugging each other.

"But that's not all!" the boy said. "When he's summoned to the field, I get to summon my Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon from my hand as well!"

"Impossible!" Honomaru protested. "There's no such card!"

"Oh, isn't there? Look closely."

The dragon dove into the ground, exploding in a burst of flames. Out of the fire came another dragon, also black, but with glowing red marks. It had 2400 attack points, just like the original Red-Eyes.

"I-it's true!" Honomaru stammered. "A new kind of Red-Eyes! B-but that's impossible! Where'd this guy get a card like that!?"

"Whoa!" I said. "Awesome!"

And I meant it, too. That dragon was amazing! The coolest thing I'd ever seen...that I could remember, anyway.

"Aw, that's nothing," the boy said. "If you liked that, wait til you see his effect!"

"_What_!?"

"Here goes! When there are dragon-type monsters in my graveyard, he gains an extra 300 attack points for each one!"

"So, wait," Iwamaru said. "He sent 2 dragons to the graveyard to summon that thing. Each is worth a total of 300 attack points, so..."

"That makes it stronger than that monarch!" I cheered.

"Idiot!" Honomaru said to Iwamaru. "Hurry and get the kid outta here before—"

"Too late!" the boy said. "I attack with my dragon! Go get 'em, boy!"

With its attack at 3000 points, the dragon blasted Thestalos, frying it to a crisp. Then it charged the Mine Golem, tearing through it with razor-sharp claws and grabbing me in its hand.

"Let's get outta here!" Honomaru said. Then he disappeared in a swirl of flames.

_What!?_ I wondered. _Did he just...?_

"You haven't seen the last of us, kid!" Iwamaru said to me. "We'll be back! And you will join our team!"

With that, the ground rose up around him, and, when they settled down, he was gone.

_These guys can teleport? Oh, that's just great..._

The dragon put me down and vanished as the boy walked over.

"Huh," he said. "Strange guys. Anyway, you alright, kiddo?"

"Yeah, I'm okay," I told him. "Thanks a lot!"

He laughed.

"Aw, don't mention it. But, you know, you might want to get a strong deck together, or, at least, some strong monsters if you've got guys like that chasing you. How do you expect to defend yourself if you don't have a strong deck?"

"I've got a deck, but it's in my room. I didn't know I had a bunch of weirdos after me."

"Well, that's okay, kiddo. 'Cause now, you know! And you'll be prepared next time, right?" he said, winking.

I stared at this super cheery guy for a moment before saying, "I think?"

He rubbed my head like I was a little kid. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure you'll be okay. Well, I better head inside before the cops show up thinking I'm up to no good again. Nice meeting you, kid! See ya!"

With that strange statement made, he headed back inside his house.

I stared after him for a moment, thinking about the comment about the police. "I'm not even sure I want to know..."

Well, with the fact that people were trying to kidnap me, I figured standing outside in a neighborhood I didn't know wasn't such a good idea. So I headed back to Elise's place to wait for her to get home. At least there was a door there that I could lock. Not that it would matter if those guys could teleport.


	4. Errands and More Trouble

**Shadgirl2: Sorry for the wait.**

**Midna: I can't keep track of what I/we have updated lately... Might help if we both hadn't gotten sick.**

**Shadgirl2: Yeah, when you're sick, you're braindead.**

**Midna: Tell me about it.**

**Shadgirl2: Anyway, enjoy! Oh, and there's a POV shift in this chapter, but most of it is still Judai's POV.**

**Disclaimer: We don't own Yugioh GX.**

* * *

About an hour later, I heard somebody messing around with the door, so I went and stood cautiously in the living room doorway, staring at the front door. When it opened, Elise was standing there with grocery bags.

She saw me standing there like a dog left home alone too long and teased, "What's up, Jaden? Did you miss me that much?"

I ran over and hugged her, relieved that it was her and not those weirdos again. "Th-these guys showed up. They busted in, and..."

She let the bags slide out of her hands and fall to the floor, then wrapped me in her arms. "It's okay. Try to calm down and tell me exactly what happened. Did they take anything?" She looked around slightly as she asked.

"N-no. They...they were here for me, they said."

Elise's eyes widened. "What!?" she exclaimed, looking at me.

"Yeah. They...I guess they were working with the other guys who were in the truck."

"Did you get a good look at who they were?"

"Yeah. There was a guy with red hair and eyes. The other was a big guy with brown hair, wearing a baseball cap. They called themselves Honomaru and Iwamaru."

"Honomaru and Iwamaru? So they gave you their names, even?" she asked, seemingly unable to believe anyone could be so stupid. I had to agree with her. Who busts into someone's house to kidnap a person, then goes and uses their names in front of their target? Then again, those might not have been their real names.

"Yeah. They also didn't want to mess up the house... They were weird."

Elise pulled back, looking thoughtful. "Huh. Those are Misgarthian names..." she said, confirming that those guys were actually named Honomaru and Iwamaru. "Okay, Jaden. You can stop worrying now. We'll get to the bottom of this," she said, heading for the phone.

At that moment, I heard that weird voice again. _"Don't...gonna...help..."_ was all I could make out.

"Huh?" Again, I looked around for whatever was talking, but I still didn't see anything.

"Hello, officer?" Elise said on the phone. "Yes, I'm calling to report that my son was just attacked. Can you send someone over right away?"

Son, huh? Well, when she said she was keeping this whole thing secret, she meant it. But, at the same time, it would be nice if I could stay with her if it turned out I didn't have a family. Not like that was gonna happen, though, considering she had already said that I'd be going to an orphanage if I turned out to be, well, an orphan.

Anyway, I looked around one last time for whoever was talking. _What _is_ that?_ I wondered, giving up. _Am I just crazy?_

"Uh-huh. Thank you, officer." Elise put the phone back on the hook and said to me, "I just informed the police, Jaden. They'll be here shortly."

"Okay," I said.

She walked over and pulled me into a hug again, stroking my hair. "It's okay, Jaden. Everything's going to be okay."

* * *

Soon after that, a police car showed up outside. A man with black hair, dressed in a black police uniform, got out and came up to the door, then started questioning me when Elise let him in. I told him exactly what had happened, giving him as many details as I could.

"Now, son, I want you to tell me exactly what the men who tried to abduct you looked like," the officer said. "Can you do that for me?"

"Well, one was a big guy with brown hair and eyes. He had a big nose and small eyes, and he was wearing a baseball cap sideways on his head. I'm guessing he was about 5-8, maybe 200 pounds?"

The officer wrote all of that down while I was talking, then said, "Alright. And the other one?"

"He was tall—I'm guessing around 6 foot—and thin with red hair and eyes. He had, like, yellow-tinted glasses and a black coat. His hair came down to his shoulders, and there was this one lock sticking up at the front. They kept calling each other Honomaru—he was the red-head—and Iwamaru."

The officer finished writing that down, then said, "Alright. We'll do our best to find these guys. But, in the meantime, I want you two to stay alert and report anything suspicious to us immediately.

Elise nodded. "Alright, sir. We'll do that."

"Don't worry, son. You've got a pretty good idea about who these two were, so we should be able to find them."

I nodded, saying, "Okay."

"Come to think of it, you look kinda familiar, kid," the officer said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Wonder were I've seen you before."

"He wouldn't know, sir," Elise said. "He's got amnesia."

"Well, whatever. It's not like it's anything _too_ important, right?" he said. I didn't tell him, but I disagreed completely. I mean, he might actually have known who I really was, but he couldn't remember either! "Well, if that's all, I best be on my way. Take care of yourselves," he added, turning for the door.

"Okay! Thank you, officer! We will!" Elise said as he walked out. After locking the door behind him, she turned to me and said, "So, Jaden, after an event like that, you _must _be hungry. Should I see about getting dinner ready?"

"Yeah! I'm starved!"

She laughed at my enthusiasm. "Okay! I'll get on it, then."

With that, she headed into the kitchen to make some dinner. I just sat down on the couch in the living room, trying to think of why that officer would have known me. Was I from around here somewhere? If so, those guys hadn't gotten very far when they kidnapped me. Was my _family_ somewhere nearby? Who _was_ my family? I mean, there had to be some reason that those guys would be trying to kidnap me. Was I rich? Was my dad a lawyer? Or my mom a doctor? Who was in charge of Kalmar, anyway? A king? Or a bunch of elected government officials? Maybe one of my parents was in a position of power around here.

Maybe I wasn't rich, though. I mean, that guy probably would have known who I was if that was the case, right? Maybe one of my parents was a cop, and those two guys were criminals who got busted by my folks once, so they were after me so that they could scare my parents for revenge! Then again, he still probably would have known me, being a cop himself, if that were the case.

Whatever the reason was, that one police officer recognizing me left me wondering, again, who I was and where I came from. But, no matter how hard I thought about it, I couldn't remember anything.

* * *

Later that night, I was still thinking about how that officer could have known me. Elise rolled out a sleeping mat for me in the storage/guest room. Apparently that was one of the things she had bought while out shopping earlier.

"Okay, Jaden. It's ready now," she said, stepping aside.

"Thanks, Elise."

"Well, is there anything else I can get you before bed? Perhaps a spare blanket in case you get cold."

"Nah, that's okay. I'll be fine," I told her.

I must have seemed pretty distracted because she looked at me for a moment, then asked, "Something on your mind?"

"Huh?" I asked, startled back to reality. "Uh, just thinking about stuff."

"You mean about what those guys did today?"

"Well, that, and what that officer said," I admitted.

"You mean the part about him knowing you? Did you remember something back then?"

I shook my head sadly. "No..."

Elise looked at me for a moment, then guessed, "You think he might know something about who you are, don't you?"

"Well, if he recognized me, then maybe."

"Would you like to talk to him more about it? We can see if he's in tomorrow, if you would."

"You think that would be okay?"

"I'm sure it would. Any leads we can find on the subject could go a long way in determining your true identity. Besides, it's the police's job to help people with stuff like that. At least, it is around here," she added, smiling.

I smiled back, glad that we had a possible lead and I could stop asking myself all these questions. "Okay!"

"Okay, then. We'll head over bright and early tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks, Elise!"

She smiled again. "Good night, Jaden. Sweet dreams," she said before heading out.

Wanting tomorrow to come as soon as possible so that I could talk to that officer about who I was, I crawled under the blanket, lying down on the mat to sleep.

* * *

The next day was actually pretty depressing. We went to the police station, and the guy we talked to yesterday was there, but he wasn't very helpful.

"I'm sorry, young man," he said after I asked if he could remember why he thought I looked familiar. "But I don't know where I recognized you from. Maybe it was something on TV. Have you ever been in a movie before?"

"I don't know," I told him, shaking my head. "I can't remember anything."

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that. Hope something comes to you. Now, if that's all you two needed, we're a bit busy right now. So, do you mind?"

"Not at all," Elise said. "Sorry we troubled you, sir. Come on, Jaden. Let's let the man get back to work."

"Okay."

"Thanks anyway, sir! Take care!" she told him before we both headed out of the station. As she headed over to her car, she said, "Well, that wasn't very helpful, was it?"

I was following, dejected, when I heard somebody growl, followed by, "Shut up! I'm _way_ older than that!"

I also heard the laughter of...small children? Coming from the same direction? And it sounded mean?

"Huh?" I looked off to the left, toward the sounds, but I didn't see anyone.

"Huh?" Elise asked, turning to me. "Something wrong, Jaden?"

"My name's not 'Rumpelstiltskin,' either!" the same voice said. "Leave me alone already!"

It sounded like all this noise was coming from around the corner, just a few yards away. "Uh, hold on a sec, Elise," I said, heading down the street toward the voice—and the strange laughter that wasn't just kids having fun.

"Uh, okay. But be careful!"

"Will do!"

She watched me as I headed down the street and around the corner. What I saw then was a couple of little red-haired kids, a boy with a baseball cap on backwards and a girl in a lacy dress, laughing at an irritated-looking boy with blue hair—the same guy that was on the bully report the day before. He was wearing heavy clothes, gloves, and sunglasses, as if he were trying to cover the bruises from his daily beatings. And, speaking of beatings, he looked about ready to give a couple of 5-year-olds one.

"I SAID—" he started.

"Hey!" I called, walking over. "What's going on here?"

The kids stopped laughing, staring at me for a second, then ran over to me, crying.

"He's being mean to us, mister!" the little boy whined.

"Y-yeah," the girl sobbed. "He called us stupid for no reason."

"H-hey! I did not!" the other kid said, sounding offended and...used to this? Okay, yeah, I wasn't gonna let this stand.

"Really?" I asked the kids. "Because that's not what it sounded like earlier."

"B-but it's true, sir! He was going to hit us, too. You saw him!"

The blue-haired boy sweat. I couldn't blame him. After all, the girl wasn't lying there. "I should run now, right?" he said after a moment.

"Well, maybe you two should stop picking on people," I told the little kids. "Then they won't get that mad at you."

"But, sir! _He_ started it!"

"Uh-huh," I said, not believing that. "Either way, you shouldn't have kept it up."

They stared at me in silence for a moment, and I actually thought that they might apologize. Instead, after a moment, the boy humphed.

"Fine. Be that way! You're a loser, too, anyway," he said before storming off.

"You suck, jerk. Hmph!" the girl said. Then she kicked me in the knee and stormed off as well, leaving me thinking that I had just met two brats who made me pity their parents.

The other guy just stood there, stunned into silence, from the looks of him.

After a moment, I asked, "Are kids always that mean?"

He didn't answer—he just kept staring, which made me stare a bit.

"Uh, you okay?" I asked him.

He blinked, then, looking stunned, asked, "Why do you care? You don't know me."

I shrugged and said, "I don't know."

The kid just stared a me for a bit longer. Then he asked, "Isn't it a bit late to be this drunk? Maybe you should go lie down for awhile..."

"I'm not drunk!" I said, amazed that he would ask. "Why would you think that?"

He stared at me some more, like I was a puzzle he couldn't solve. "You on drugs, then?"

"Not that I know of."

"Smoke cocain?"

"I don't think so," I said, thinking that I'd be feeling the withdrawal by now.

He seemed to be running out of ideas because he paused for a second, then said, "Got a mental disorder? Surely there's _some_ reason you're not thinking very clearly at the moment! I mean, you just—" He cut himself off.

"Stood up for someone?" I suggested. "Not everyone in the world's a jerk."

He looked awed at that one, making me wonder what planet I was on. Oh, great, I was abducted by aliens and was dumped on the wrong planet! But then how would that officer have recognized me?

"Who _are_ you?" the kid asked.

"Jaden!?" Elise called. "You okay over there!?"

"Yeah, Elise! I'm okay!" I called back over my shoulder. Then I turned back to the kid and said, "I gotta go."

I turned to leave, but the kid said, "Wait!" and reached out to stop me.

I stopped, turning back to him, and waited.

"You...didn't answer my question... Why are you being so nice to me? Don't you know who I am?"

"I don't even know who _I_ am. Besides, you shouldn't be made fun of just because you're you."

He stood there for a moment, silent, then, with a smile, said, "I'm Sho Marufuji. Nice to meet you, No-Name."

Thinking that would have to be the worst possible suggestion anyone had come up with for what to call me—I mean, seriously, No-Name!? What kind of a name was that!?—I told him, "You can call me Jaden."

"But I thought you didn't know who you were! Sheesh. Make up your mind already." He pouted.

"I don't. But the lady I'm staying with won't call me 'kid' or something, so she's calling me Jaden."

And, now, I was grateful that Elise had insisted on coming up with a name to call me by. Otherwise, that kid could still call me "No-Name."

"Oh," Sho said after a minute. "Okay."

"Jaden!? What's taking so long!? Come on! We have to go! We have things we need to do!"

"Coming, Elise!" I called. I turned back to Sho and said, "It's been nice talking, but I have to go."

Sho just stood there, staring at me. It was kinda creepy, to be honest.

"Jaden! Come on! We're burning daylight here!"

"I'm coming!" I called, running back to the car.

* * *

As Jaden ran off, I just stood there, staring after him. I mean, was he seriously just being nice to me for the heck of it? Nobody did that!

"What was that all about?" that woman—Elise, he called her—asked from around the corner. "You remember something or something?"

"No. I just found someone being bullied, so I stood up for him," Jaden answered.

"Oh. How kind of you. Did they say thank you?"

Oops. I'd been so busy trying to figure out why he was being nice to me that I hadn't actually thanked him for being nice enough to help me.

For a second, I was worried that Jaden was going to come back and beat an apology out of me because he didn't answer right away. I was all set to run for it when I heard him say, "Uh, he's not used to people standing up for him, so he was pretty confused, actually."

Huh!? Had he just defended me again!? Without any chance of getting something from me!? Maybe he _was_ different. Or maybe he really was just nuts.

"Well, that's okay. The important thing is you helped him, regardless. Well, get in. Like I said, we've got a lot of work to do. For one, I promised Mr. and Mrs. Tenjoin that I would bring them over some of my ham and pineapple casserole, so I'll need to get some cheese at the store first, okay?"

I heard a car door shut, then Jaden said, "Okay."

Another car door shut, then the engine started, and I saw a car drive by. As they were driving off, I stood there thinking.

"Tenjoins, huh? Hmm..."

I figured that, if I could find that family, I could see Jaden again. I mean, they were going to be there eventually, so I might see him again if I went there and waited.

* * *

After that whole thing with Sho, Elise took me shopping for some clothes. We walked into a department store in the mall, and she took me back to the guys' section.

"Okay, Jaden," she said. "Go ahead and see what you can find that you like. But, remember, I can only spend $120 on your clothes, so choose wisely, okay?"

"Okay," I said before going looking for clothes.

As I checked the price tags, I learned something else about myself: I have no idea how much $120 is worth. I mean, for some reason, when she said that, I thought that I'd be able to buy, like, maybe a wristband from a vending machine. Then, looking at the tags, I saw that the clothes cost anywhere from $10 to $60. So, clearly, I wasn't from Kalmar because I didn't understand their money system. That, or I just never bought anything here.

While I was browsing the racks, a couple of men walked into sight. One was wearing a gray hat and red shirt, with a brown coat over it. He had icy-blue eyes and a brown beard. The other was a guy with long purple hair and yellow eyes. He was dressed in a white shirt, blue jacket, and black jeans.

I didn't pay a lot of attention to them when they first showed up, but the guy in the hat pointed at me while I was checking out some shirts, and then the two of them came over to me.

"'Scuse me, kid," the one in the blue jacket said. "You got a minute?"

"Huh?" I asked, turning.

"'Cause, if ya do, we'd like to ask you a couple of questions, alright?" the guy in the hat said, a nasty grin on his face.

I looked at the two of them, uneasy. Aside from the grin on Hat-Head, both of them had pretty mean-looking eyes.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"Relax, kid," Hat-Head said. "We're not gonna hurt ya. We just want to know a few things, that's all. So, for starters, is your name Yuki Judai?"

Something about that sounded familiar to me, and somehow I knew that the name was reverse of how everyone said it in Kalmar: last name first. Somehow, I also felt that was how I was used to hearing people's names. Yep, definitely not from Kalmar.

"Yuki Judai...?" I repeated, stunned. That _really _sounded familiar. "I...I don't know."

"Don't play dumb with us," Blue Jacket said. "We know you know. You're Yuki Judai. The guy who can save our world from certain destruction, right?"

"I don't know," I said again. "Really."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Elise looking our way. After a moment, she started walking over.

"Quit playin' around, kid!" Hat-Head said. "We've come a long way lookin' for ya! You _have_ to know what we're talkin' about!"

"Excuse me, gentlemen," Elise said from behind the guys. "But is there something we can help you with?"

They turned, finding themselves face-to-face with Elise, her arms crossed and a stern look on her face.

"Nah, we were just talkin', ma'am," Hat-Head said. "See, we're lookin' for an old friend of ours, and we thought he was him."

"That's right. We were sent to find him 'cause someone informed us that he's supposed to save the day or somethin'. But I don't think this guy's him, after all."

Elise raised an eyebrow.

Blue Jacket turned back to me and said, "So, anyway, since you're clearly not him, we'll be on our way now. Sorry we troubled you. Come on, Kourimaru." He walked off, adding, "He's gotta be around here somewhere."

"Right," Hat-Head—er, Kourimaru—said, following his friend out.

"_Maru" again, huh?_ I thought. _Wonder if he knows Honomaru and Iwamaru... Those guys said they needed a fifth member, so there's four of them. Wonder who that last guy is?_

"Well, that was strange," Elise said, jolting me from my thoughts. "Do you know what they were talking about?"

I shook my head and told her, "They called me Yuki Judai."

Elise looked startled. "Y-Yuki!? But that's—" She cut herself off.

"Huh? What?" I asked.

She stared at me for another moment before she answered, "Uh, no. It's nothing."

I looked down, thinking about that name again. "It sounds familiar..."

She started, turning to stare at me. "R-really?"

I nodded.

Elise just stared at me for another moment, then said, "Jaden, how would you feel about making an appointment at the castle to speak with the king?"

Well, that answered my question about who was in charge around here: they had a king.

"Huh? Why?" I asked. My eyes were probably the size of saucers or something.

"Oh, no reason. It's just that he might be able to help us figure out who you are, that's all. After all, when you've got a problem you just can't solve, you go to the king in this kingdom. He's like a father to us, you see."

I stared at her, still stunned. I mean, it was kind of extreme to go to the king over a little case of amnesia, wasn't it? Finally, though, I managed to dislodge my tongue from my throat and say, "Uh, okay. If that's really okay..."

"It's fine, Jaden. Trust me."

"Okay."

"Good. I'll send him a letter once we get home. In the meantime, you better get yourself some nice, clean clothes to wear. You don't want to be a mess when you go to see him."

"Right," I said, now very much conscious of my appearance.

The clothes I had on were the ones I'd been wearing in the accident, according to Elise. A white T-shirt and a pair of faded blue jeans. They were a bit torn up, but that was probably from the accident. So, pretty much, all I had right then was a torn-up and smelly T-shirt and some tattered jeans. Not the kind of clothes you want to wear when you wind up meeting royalty, so I went back to looking at clothes.

* * *

After we finished up there, we stopped by a bath store and picked up some other things for me. Then Elise took me to the grocery store for the ingredients for her casserole. While she was there, she decided to let me get something for myself.

"Now, go find something you like quickly," she told me. "I need to get home soon if I'm going to get this ready in time for their party, okay?"

"Okay," I said, hurrying off to find something. One thing was for sure: I didn't want cheese, which was all that was in that aisle, so I took off to explore the store.

I was walking through the frozen food section when I heard a voice say, "Son of a...! This is the _last_ time I go shopping with you, Daichi! Now look what you've done!"

I looked and saw a guy who looked way too rich to be doing his own grocery shopping standing there covered in ice cream. He was really pale, and the black hair and clothes didn't help any. Beside him, there was another guy, this one rich, but not too rich to be grocery shopping for himself. He wore a white outfit, kind of like a school uniform, and he was holding the container for the ice cream that the other guy was wearing, sideways and dripping.

"Sorry, Manjoume," the guy in white, apparently Daichi, said. "I didn't mean to."

"Yeah. Sure, ya didn't," Manjoume said. "You know this thing's dry clean only, right!? What am I supposed to do now!?"

Well, it wasn't my business what was going on there. Besides, that Daichi guy looked like he could take care of himself, so I just got back to looking for something. Elise wanted me to hurry, after all.

"Clean-up on aisle 6," a voice over the intercom said.

I grabbed some ice cream—moose tracks—and was heading back to Elise when the janitor showed up.

"Well, Jaden?" she said when I walked over. "What have you got?"

I held out the tub of moose tracks.

"Okay! So that's what you want?"

"Uh-huh!"

"Okay! Then let's go. I've got a lot to do today," she said, making her way to the register.

* * *

When we got back, Elise parked on the curb and opened the trunk to unload everything we'd just bought.

I was getting out of the car when she asked, "Jaden? Can you help me out here please?"

"Sure," I said, heading back to grab some bags.

While I was unloading the car, I saw something behind me, reflected off the bumper. It looked like a person, and it looked like they were looking at me. Since I'd already had two different groups of people come after me in the last couple of days, I glanced back. Whoever it was ducked behind the Tenjoins' trash can.

Elise hadn't noticed anything. She was taking some of the stuff inside. I quickly grabbed the rest, shut the trunk, and hurried to catch up with her, not wanting to be alone on the street if there was a chance somebody was going to try to kidnap me again.

I followed Elise through the front door and into the kitchen, where she set down the groceries and said. "Okay. While I'm unloading these groceries, why don't you take those clothes upstairs and put them in the closet in your room?"

"Okay," I said, taking the bags with my stuff and heading for the stairs.

When I came out of the kitchen, I saw somebody duck out of sight at the window. I looked real quick, then put the bags down and headed outside to check out who was spying on me.

As soon as I stepped outside, I saw someone duck out of sight behind Elise's car.

"Who's there!?" I called. "Come out!"

Small, gloved hands popped up behind the hood slowly, followed by a familiar blue-haired head: Sho Marufuji, and he looked nervous.

"Hi?"

I looked at him, confused. What was he doing at Elise's place? That wasn't anywhere near the police station! "Sho? What are you doing sneaking around here?"

"Uh..."

I cocked my head.

"I, uh...wanted to see you again? Heh heh," he said, moving around the car.

"Okay... But how did you find me?"

"I, uh, overheard you guys talking about some Tenjoins you knew, so I..." He sweat.

I grinned and finished, "Tracked them down?"

"Yes?" He gave a couple of nervous laughs again, then added, "Please don't be mad at me! I-it's just that I've never had a friend before, so I thought, maybe... Th-that is, I wanted to say—but you'd probably say no, so—I-I mean—"

"Okay," I said.

"I know I shouldn't spy on you, but I figured you wouldn't—wait. What?"

Well, took him long enough to realize what I'd said. He had really been babbling.

"Sure, we can be friends."

"R-really!? B-but why? I was just—"

"It's not a big deal. You didn't do anything wrong. Besides, I could use a friend, too."

"So, you're serious!?" Sho asked, looking like I'd just told him he won the lottery. "You actually wanna—"

"If you want, sure."

"Well, in that case, th-then, yeah! I'd like that! Thanks, Jaden! You're the best!"

I smiled and asked, "You wanna come in? I was just gonna put away the stuff Elise got me."

"Really!? I can come inside! You sure that's allowed?"

Okay, so now I was a little worried that he might blow a gasket if I didn't stop being friendly, but I still said, "I don't see why not."

"Thanks, Jaden! You're the best!"

I laughed.

"So? We going in or not?" Sho asked. He ran for the door. "Come on! Let's go already! I can't wait to see where you live!"

"Okay, okay!" I said, stepping aside so he wouldn't bowl me over. "Come on in."

"Thanks. Don't mind if I do," he said, walking in with a smile.

As I closed the door, Elise called, "Jaden? Is that company I hear? Who is it?" She peeked out into the hallway.

"This is Sho," I told her. "I met him earlier today."

"H-hi..." he said nervously.

"Oh. Is he the kid you were helping out earlier?" she asked, walking over.

I nodded. "Uh-huh."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Sho. I'm Elise. Jaden's caregiver. Would you like something to drink?"

"Th-that's okay. I was just gonna help Jaden unpack a few things. Y-you know. Since he helped me out earlier..."

"Why, how nice of you. Okay. You can start by helping him clear out his room. It's so cluttered that it's unlivable right now."

"O-okay!"

"Good. Now, why don't you boys run along while I finish making dinner, okay?"

"Okay," I said. "Come on, Sho!" I grabbed my bags and hurried up the stairs.

"H-hey! Wait for me!" Sho called, running after me.


	5. Yuki Judai

**Shadgirl2: Here's another chapter. There are a couple of POV shifts in this one, too.**

**Midna: So, with that in mind, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: We don't own Yugioh GX.**

* * *

"Whoa... Look at all those boxes..." Sho said, looking around my temporary room. "What are they all for, Jaden?"

"I don't know," I told him. "They were here before I was."

"S-so, wait. _When_ did you move in!?"

"Yesterday."

"Wha!? Really!? H-how come?"

"I was in an accident, I guess. I was in the hospital until yesterday. Since I can't remember anything and didn't have any ID, Elise is taking care of me until...until we can find out where I'm supposed to be."

I tried to keep my tone neutral there at the end. I really didn't want to end up in an orphanage somewhere, but that was probably where I was gonna be. I mean, if there was even the slightest chance that guy saw me on TV, then there was a chance that my family—if they were even still alive—wouldn't ever find out I was here.

Sho looked stunned, and I guess I couldn't blame him, considering my story wasn't exactly normal. Heck, it sounded like something out of a soap opera! "Oh..."

"Anyway, these boxes aren't gonna move themselves," I pointed out.

"R-right! Let's get on it, then."

Still looking a bit stunned, he walked over to a couple of stacked boxes and tried to pick one up off the other. Emphasis on "tried." It didn't go anywhere, but sweat started beading on his brow. I walked over, wondering what was in that box that could be so heavy, and picked it up without any trouble.

_What gives?_ I wondered. _Is he really that weak?_

"Hey..." he breathed. "I could've...g-gotten it if you'd just...given me a...bit more time..."

"Sorry?" I said, though I seriously doubted that he could have. I mean, he was panting just from trying. And it wasn't even that heavy of a box. Big, sure, but it wasn't too big for me to carry by myself.

"That's okay. I'll just let you get that one. I'll just get this little one that was underneath it," Sho said, looking smug.

The other box was maybe a square foot in size, but he still had trouble with that. I leaned over and looked in the hole in the top where the flaps weren't totally closed, and all I saw was some old clothes.

"So?" Sho asked. "Where do you want them?"

"Follow me," I said, heading out to figure out where Elise wanted the stuff. Honestly, I probably should have asked sooner.

* * *

It turned out Elise wanted all of that stuff moved to the basement, which meant I got to find that part of the house. The basement door was in the kitchen, and I'd thought it was a closet earlier. Anyway, we spent the better part of the afternoon moving boxes down to the basement. Then, once everything was out of my room, Sho helped me unpack all the stuff Elise had bought me.

"Okay," he said, standing in my closet door. "So the shirts go in here, and the pants and stuff go in there." He pointed to the an old dresser we'd found in the basement and brought up—the furniture she'd actually had in this room turned out to be a dismantled table and some chairs. "Is that right?"

"Yeah," I said. I mean, that sounded good to me. That dresser was bigger than the closet! Teeny, tiny closet, big dresser with, like, a bazillion drawers.

"Okay. Just checking." He grabbed a shirt out of a bag and hung it up on one of the few hangers in the tiny closet.

Man, why did that tiny closet bother me so much? How much room did I think it should have? Honestly, it kinda felt like it was supposed to be holding mops and brooms, not clothes. The fact that I was thinking the closet should be bigger...did that mean I was used to having more room? And, if so, what did _that_ mean? Ugh, amnesia really sucks!

* * *

"We...did a...good job... Right...Ja...den...?" Sho breathed some time later when everything was put away. He was sitting on the mat on the floor, though he looked about ready to lie down.

"Yeah," I agreed.

Sho looked at me for a minute before saying, "You know, I'm not so sure the name 'Jaden' fits you."

Great. Elise gave me a name that didn't fit?

"You strike me as a type of older brother."

Wait, what? What did that have to do with my name fitting?

"I mean, with how much you've helped me out today, and all..." He blushed, apparently feeling uneasy about saying this all of a sudden. I was still trying to figure out how my name not fitting was connected to me being a big brother.

"So, I was thinking that...maybe I could...call you Aniki instead?" Sho asked. He sounded nervous.

Oh. He just didn't want to call me by name. It was a nickname. Okay, that made sense, I guess. I shrugged. "That's fine with me."

"R-really!? You really don't mind?"

"No. Go ahead."

"Wow. You really _are_ cool, Aniki. Thanks."

I laughed, rubbing the back of my head.

"Boys!" Elise called. "Supper's ready! Come on down if you want some!"

"Wha!? Does she mean I can stay for supper, too!?" Sho asked.

"Sounds like," I said, standing up. "Come on! Let's eat!" I raced out of the room before Sho could even blink.

He didn't follow right away, but, after a second, I heard him say, "Okay!" and I could tell he was smiling. Then he came running after me.

* * *

That night, I lay awake, my mind racing as it tried to make sense of everything that had happened that day. Especially that stuff in the mall.

_Yuki Judai... Why does that name sound so familiar? Is that who I am? _Was_ I on TV or something? Elise knew that last name... _I was giving myself a migraine trying to figure anything out. I shook my head._ Man, I hope we get in to see the king soon. And that he can help. This is driving me crazy._

_"__Kuri kuri," _that weird voice said again. All I could make out was "Jo...club..." Which I guessed was "join the club." Whatever that thing was, it didn't like me having amnesia any more than I did.

"Again?" I asked. "Seriously, what is that?"

As usual, I didn't get an answer. I waited for a few minutes.

"There's no way it's just my imagination, is there?" I wondered quietly.

* * *

"Come on, boy!" Elise said in the morning. "Wake up! You can't sleep all day when there's chores to be done!"

I moaned. "Five more minutes...?"

Elise yanked the covers off me. "You've slept enough, boy. Get up. I've got to go to work, and that means you need to watch the house while I'm gone."

I sat up, rubbing my eyes. I'm not sure when I fell asleep that night, but I couldn't have been sleeping for very long. "Okay, okay."

"Good. Now go get cleaned up while I make your lunch for the day," Elise said, walking out. She stopped in the doorway and looked back, adding, "And, Jaden? Try not to eat it before it's time to."

She left, and I dragged myself out of bed and down the hall to the bathroom.

* * *

By the time I was cleaned up, dressed, and downstairs, Elise was already gone. But she left some breakfast out, along with a sandwich in a bag that must have been my lunch. And a note with a list of things she...wanted me to do? Wow, I was being put to _work_?

I read over the note while I was eating my breakfast.

"I'm going to be gone for awhile, so it's your job to take care of this place. Stay indoors until I get back, and _don't_ let anyone in unless you know them. I closed the curtains so that no one can spy on you, and I told the neighbors to look out for anyone suspicious, so you can go to them if someone does break in. To buy some time, use your deck to attack their monsters and counter their attacks. Then call 999 when safe to do so. Now that that's out of the way, let's get on with your chores. If you're going to live with me, you're going to help out around the house. Make sure to do all the dishes you accumulate after every snack or meal. Vacuum the floors in the living room, upstairs hallway, and my bedroom. Do the laundry. Note: the instructions are on the dryer. And, finally, dust off the furniture. I'm expecting a good job from you, so take your time with each task and call me if you need help. Have a wonderful day, Jaden! See you at dinner time! :)"

Yes, indeed. There was a smiley face at the end of the note. 999...that sounded foreign, but it was three digits, so I figured it was an emergency number, a way I could call the police in a hurry. More proof that I was from a different country, I guess.

But..._chores_? I had _chores_? That really didn't feel familiar at all. I didn't know how to dust, or what a vacuum even was, or—you know, let's just save time. I didn't have a clue how to do any of that stuff. And what the heck was a "dryer?" What was it supposed to _do_?

I groaned, both annoyed at not knowing any of this and frustrated that I had to do it anyway. "Chores? Seriously?"

* * *

Apparently "vacuum" is code for "evil suction device whose cord gets yanked out of the wall if you drag it too far across the floor." It took me ten minutes to figure out that I was supposed to plug it into some hole in the wall that matched the prongs on the plug-thing, and another ten to find the "power" button. And then I was wishing I hadn't found it—the vacuum roared when it was turned on.

Well, eventually I figured out the vacuum and got it working. It sucked up all the dirt on the floor, which was kinda cool, really. I had to move it to other holes from time to time, which is how I found out that those things were everywhere. I was busy vacuuming the living room when someone started pounding on the door.

Thinking of the last time people were pounding on the door, I tensed, turning off the vacuum and putting my duel disk on and getting ready to run. Hey, what can I say? Elise was right.

"Aniki!" I heard from the door, along with more pounding. "Aniki! Come on, open up! Hurry, already!"

I ran to get the door, confused. "Sho?" I asked, opening the door.

Sure enough, it was Sho. And he ran in and slammed the door behind him, locking it. Then he stood there, leaning against the door as he caught his breath.

"Th...thanks, Aniki... I...knew I could...count on...you..."

"What's going on, Sho?"

"I'm...being chased..._again_ for m...my lunch money," he answered. "Sheesh. One of these days, I'm gonna remember to stay at home."

"This happens a lot?"

"You missed the interview, didn't you? It happens every _day_, and that's just for starters. Next I'm gonna get picked on by the teachers, locked in a locker until the janitor gets tired of listening to me screaming, then a guy named Gorisuke's gonna hang me from the flag pole by my underwear, and—"

"That's not cool! This seriously happens every _day_!?"

"Well, not _every _day," Sho said. "They dress me up on holidays. As a naked Cupid, a leprechaun they can chase to get his pot of gold, a reindeer to pull their sleigh—"

He probably would have kept going if he hadn't seen the look on my face. Guess I had a look to kill. And can you blame me!? I mean, seriously, why would they _do_ that stuff to him _every day_!? Was everyone in that town that sick!?

"Aniki? You okay?"

I didn't have a chance to answer before somebody else pounded on the door, and a guy's voice said, "Open up, Sho! I know you're in there! You owe us some money, stat! You better pay up before you get yourself even deeper in debt than you already are! You already owe us $47! Don't make me add _this_ day's payment to it and make it $56!"

I growled. I might not have known how much $47 was, but I did know that it was too much for this guy to be asking for, especially considering he probably had a stupid reason to be demanding it.

"Why do you owe them money?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"'Cause they said so," Sho said, confirming what I already thought. "And I don't always pay them back. They told me on my first day of school that I had to pay a $25 entrance fee. When I didn't have it, they beat me up instead. So the next day, I brought them their money, and they told me that the amount had doubled since I hadn't paid it the day before. They beat me up again so the _next_ day I gave them all $100 from my savings account, and they said that, thanks to interest, I still owed them $15. The cycle's continued that way ever since."

The more he talked, the angrier I was getting. They beat him up over an entrance fee he didn't even know about until he got there, then charged him double, along with _interest_!? Interest that had to be insanely high if he could pay them $300 and still owe money!

"Alright, Sho!" the creep outside called. "I'm gonna give you til the count of three, and then we're busting in there! One...two..."

I opened the door, glaring. A skinny boy in a dark gray suit, red tie, and sunglasses was standing there. He had short red hair, and a couple of cronies standing behind him. Both of them were also wearing suits and shades, and one had a briefcase. They must have been his hired muscle because they were way bigger and tougher-looking than him.

"Can I help you?"

"Who the heck are you?" the red-head asked. "Get lost. This isn't your business. We're here for the little guy. Now move aside so we can get what we came here for."

"Aniki!" Sho said from behind me, sounding worried.

"This isn't your house," I said. "Don't make me call the police."

"Oh, you don't want to pick a fight with us, kid. Or would you rather pay us the kid's debt, but doubled?"

The other two cracked their knuckles, and I knew for sure that these creeps were the low-down scum I'd been thinking they were.

"Aniki. Just pay them. You don't know what they'll do!"

Well, I wasn't about to give in to a bunch of thugs, especially when they were threatening my friend and me. "He doesn't owe you creeps anything!" I told them instead. "Just leave him alone!"

"Aniki!"

"Au contraire," the red-head said. "He never paid his entrance fee in full! He's been running up the bill ever since. So, unless you want to run up a debt of your own, I suggest you hand him over. There's a $30 payment required for refusing."

A $30 payment? I didn't even go to their stinking school! Like hell I was gonna pay them!

"Aniki! Just let me go!" Sho said. "It's not worth it for _you_ to wind up in debt, too! It's okay! I'm used to it!"

He was used to it? No. That wasn't gonna stand.

"'Entrance fee?' What's this 'entrance fee' about?"

"Well, _duh_. It's _our_ school, and any new freshman's gotta pay _us_ an entrance fee to be allowed to attend. That's the rules me and my buddies came up with, after all." He grinned, and the other two nodded. "So, unless you want to pay an interference fee, you'll give me Sho now."

"Alright, alright," Sho said, moving forward. "I'm—"

"Forget it! You're not getting him!" I snapped.

Sho stopped. "Aniki!"

"Then pay up!" He held out a hand and looked at me sternly. "That's $30 _plus_ tax, please?"

Well, Sho might have been afraid of that guy, but I wasn't. He was just some lousy bully, picking on anyone too weak to defend themselves and using his "buddies" to make sure that was almost everyone. Instead of paying, I glared at him. "I'm not paying. I don't give money to thieves."

"Then you leave me no choice! Go get him, boys!"

His two goons moved forward, fists raised to beat me to a pulp. Sho stepped forward, apparently wanting to take my place. I wasn't afraid of them, though. I activated my duel disk and threw down a card. A golden hero, Elemental Hero Bladedge.

The goons stepped back, startled.

"W-wait. You're a duelist!?" the red-head asked.

"Aniki!"

"Yeah, I'm a duelist. What's it to you?"

The three of them backed up some more.

"You know, I just remembered, there's something I needed to...to do... Come on, boys! Let's get out of here!"

The three of them turned and ran. I deactivated my duel disk, disgusted by those cowardly thieving bullies, and Bladedge disappeared.

"Those guys..."

"Aniki... You just..." Sho said, staring at me in awe.

"I wasn't gonna let them get away with that. What else was I supposed to do?"

Sho teared up, then lunged at me, throwing his arms around me. "Aniki! Thank you! Y-you're the best f-friend a g-guy could ever have!"

I laughed a bit at his reaction. "That's what friends are for, Sho."

He cried louder, holding on tighter. "Aniki! Y-you're—"

"Heh."

"Aw," came a familiar voice from the doorway. "How sweet."

I tensed, kicking myself for leaving the door open after those creeps had run off, then turned toward the speaker.

Kourimaru was standing in the doorway, along with his friend in the blue jacket.

"Hey, Judai," Blue Jacket said. "What's up?"

"H-huh?" Sho asked. "Aniki, d-did they just call you—"

"What do you want?"

"Relax, kid. We just want to talk. About your future, that is."

The two of them walked in, heading toward Sho and me. I backed up, pushing Sho behind me as I did.

"Now, come on," Kourimaru said. "Why so defensive? We just want you to come see our boss, is all. He would like to tell you about your true destiny. Nothing wrong with that, right?"

They were still coming, their hands in their pockets. I wasn't sure I wanted to know why, so I didn't wait to find out. I activated my duel disk, which still had Bladedge's card on it, and he reappeared.

"Aw, come on, kid. Don't make this difficult."

"Attack!" I commanded.

Bladedge attacked the two, and I grabbed Sho and ran for the back door.

"Aniki! What's going on!?" Sho asked.

I heard Kourimaru growl. "Lousy little—I activate my Reflector Bit to redirect your attack at my partner!"

A pod appeared and opened up, revealing four connected mirrors inside. Bladedge wound up attacking it, but his attack bounced off and headed for the other guy. Briefly I noted that meant Kourimaru wouldn't be hit by any of my attacks and could keep coming after me all he wanted.

"Now, hold on," he said. "I activate _my_ Reflector Bit to redirect your redirected attack at _your_ partner, Judai! So much for friendship. Huh, kiddo?"

Another of those mirrors appeared, and Bladedge hit it, causing him to come flying back at Sho.

Sho's eyes widened. "Aniki! Help!"

Thinking fast, I pulled another card, sticking it in one of the slots on my duel disk as I said, "Hero Barrier!"

A spinning shield appeared in front of Sho, negating Bladedge's attack.

"Come _on_, Judai!" Kourimaru taunted. "Is that the best you got? 'Cause, thanks to our Reflector Bits, any attacks you try to wage against us will just hurt your partner instead."

"So are you ready to cooperate and do as we say?"

My brain was working overtime, looking for a solution. Kourimaru was the first one to use that Reflector Bit, which meant he was willing to sacrifice his partner to get at me. If I destroyed the other guy's Reflector Bit, that wouldn't stop Kourimaru. But, yesterday, the guy in the blue jacket had been telling his partner to go with him when he left. Maybe that meant he wasn't so willing to leave his partner behind. So I needed to target Kourimaru's Reflector Bit.

I worked through all of this in about an eighth of a second.

"I activate R – Righteous Justice! This destroys spell and trap cards equal to the number of Elemental Heroes I have on the field!"

Kourimaru's card was destroyed, and he cried, "What!?"

Without my command, Bladedge went after him again.

"Not so fast! I summon Mobius! The Frost Monarch! And equip him with Steel Shell!"

The icy monster in the blue cape that appeared had 2800 attack points—200 more than Bladedge.

Now, I didn't think about this at the time, but I felt like I was in familiar territory for the first time since I'd woken up in that hospital. Dueling was familiar. I knew how to do it, and I knew what each move meant for me. I also knew how to counter their moves, how to get out of this. That is, assuming they didn't make things worse.

I pulled out another card, one I knew was a field spell, and stuck it in a special slot in my duel disk specially made for that kind of card.

"Skyscraper!" I cried as a city-scape appeared all around us. "This raises an Elemental Hero's attack in battle by 1000 if it's weaker than the opponent!"

"Say what!?"

Bladedge sliced through the monarch. Kourimaru fell to the ground, and I turned and kept running, with Sho following behind.

"Kourimaru!" the other guy said, staying behind to help his partner. "You alright!?"

That was the last thing I heard before I threw open the kitchen door and ran for it.

* * *

I got to my hands and knees, ticked off at that idiot partner of mine, Ikazuchimaru. "You idiot! Why didn't you back me up!? Your Thunder Monarch could have _easily_ defeated that thing!"

"Calm down. It wasn't the right strategy. If we'd kept attacking him that way, he'd have just used stronger and stronger monsters to defend himself. We wouldn't stand a chance if that would have occurred. We need another tactic."

I stood up and grudgingly admitted, "Yeah. You're right. But how are we supposed to nab him if he's hiding out with that lady?"

"Hmm..." Ikazuchimaru thought about it for a bit, then said, "I've got an idea. Just leave it to me."

* * *

I was expecting them to follow once Kourimaru recovered, but I guess they gave up. Which is why Sho and I stopped in an alley several blocks away to catch our breath.

"Geez...Ani...ki... That was...insane back there... Do you know those guys or something?"

"I don't know... I can't...remember..." I panted.

"Well, they sure seemed to know _you_. And why did they keep calling you 'Judai,' bu the way? Do they really think you're him?"

"I...I don't know. That name sounds...familiar. But..." I shook my head. "I don't know."

"Well, of _course_ that name sounds familiar. _Everyone_ knows who Judai is. Well, almost everyone."

I frowned. "I...I don't. I don't know who he is."

"Wha!?" Sho said, apparently forgetting I had amnesia. "B-but Aniki! He's only the most important person in the neighbor kingdom of Neospace! Well, the second most important, at least. You seriously don't know him!?"

"Sho, I don't even know who _I_ am. Of course I don't!" I reminded him. I was getting really tired of him forgetting that I couldn't remember anything. Honestly, who was the one who was supposed to be having trouble with their memories, him or me?

"Okay, Aniki. He's—"

"Ah-ha!" said a man's voice "There you are, Signor Marufuji!"

Sho tensed. "Uh-oh..." He turned slowly.

I looked, too, and saw...uh, well, whoever it was had a blond ponytail and squinty black eyes. This person had purple lips, too, and these crescent moon earrings. They were wearing a blue coat with a frilly pink collar and cuffs on the sleeves to match.

"How _dare_ you skip school like this!?" the person said, storming over. It sounded like a man, but it didn't look like one. Well, okay, he kinda did, but the frilly pink, and the earrings, and the lipstick I think he was wearing didn't make it _look_ like he was. The ponytail also didn't help any. "I should have you expelled for it!"

"No, please, Professor Cronos! You don't understand! I was—"

"Save your breath," Professor Cronos cut him off. "I'm not listening to any excuses from some drop-out boy! Now let's go! You've got some explaining to do!" He grabbed Sho's arm and dragged him off.

"Bye, Aniki!" Sho called back, looking nervous. "See you later!"

I just stood there staring until they were out of sight. I mean, I'm pretty sure that was a man's name, but he looked a lot like a woman from the way he was dressed. Then I realized that I should probably call the police, like Elise had suggested, about those two guys in the house.

Seeing as I couldn't be sure that they weren't still there waiting for me, I went to the neighbor's house instead to ask if I could use their phone.

* * *

Remember how I said that I thought the last time I talked to Asuka Tenjoin would be the only time? Yeah, turned out, I was wrong. She and her brother were getting home from school about the time I got to their house, and she looked surprised to see me on their doorstep about to knock. Her brother, on the other hand, seemed to understand and let me in.

Asuka watched, shaking her head, as I dialed the number. "I can't believe this. When Elise told us to keep an eye on you, I never knew this is what she meant. And you say this isn't the first time this has happened?"

"No. A couple of guys showed up the other day, too. They keep calling me Yuki Judai, whoever that is," I told her as I waited for an answer. I didn't call the emergency number since I wasn't even sure if it counted as an emergency when it was over.

She gasped. "D-did you just say Yuki Judai!? Are you serious!?"

"Hey, I need to report an attempted kidnapping," I told the lady who answered.

"I don't know about this, Jaden," Asuka said. "You said the two that attacked you weren't the same guys from before? Then, if that's true, there might not be much the police can do to help."

I covered the mouthpiece and asked her, "Well, then, what do I do?"

"I don't know. It sounds like you've got a whole gang on your tail, and you know how they are." I bit my tongue so I wouldn't tell her that no, I didn't, and she went on, "They protect their members with constant fake alibis and the word from other gangs. You may need a new plan here."

While she was telling me this, the lady on the phone asked for my name and address. I sweat, realizing I had a problem here.

"Uh, I don't know the address... I'm sorta new around here. And, uh, I'm Jaden."

"Jaden. You have to be more specific than that," Asuka said. "They can't do anything without a last name or a home address."

"I don't know my last name," I said, not sure if I was telling the operator or Asuka at that point. "I don't know my first name, either. See, I've got amnesia, so I don't know who I am. And, uh..."

Asuka sighed and told me the address, which I repeated for the operator.

"Honestly, Jaden, if you're gonna live here for awhile, the least you can do is learn your own contact info. What are you gonna do if this happens again and no one's around to help you?"

I put the phone down and ignored her question, saying, "They're sending someone over."

"Whatever. Then why don't you head back over there and wait on them? Though, I'm telling you, it's a waste of time."

"Yeah, well, I don't know what else to do."

"Sorry. I can't help you there. Why not try hiring a private investigator to go and check out this enemy gang of yours? Who knows? Maybe you'll find someone cheap in the black market."

Now, in the first place, she didn't sound sorry. And, in the second place, her tone was...kinda rude. Like, condescending and a bit sarcastic.

"Yeah, sure, like I can afford that."

She shrugged, showing just how much she didn't care. "Like I said. You're on your own."

I sighed, wondering why I had wanted to talk to her the other day.

"Aw, come on, sis," her brother said. "Cut the guy some slack. It's not his fault these guys are after him."

"Yeah, whatever," she said.

"She always think it's the victim's fault?" I asked. If she did, I really didn't see why I wanted to talk to her when I first moved in. "Or is she just one of those people with a black hole where their heart should be?"

"What's that supposed to mean!?" she snapped.

"Nah," her brother said casually. "She just don't take too kindly to strangers who show up out of nowhere, move in with someone new out of the blue, and have vicious criminals on their trail."

She humphed, apparently insulted by his casual tone. His tone told me all I needed to know: stay away from that girl. She's not friendly.

"It's not my fault they think I'm this 'Yuki Judai' guy."

"Uh-huh. Jaden? Do you even know who that is? 'Cause he's a little more important than some 'guy,' as you so bluntly put it," Asuka said, her tone clearly saying she thought I was the stupidest person in the whole world.

Her brother sweat, but he kept his tone casual as he said, "And she thinks you're an idiot, too. That doesn't really help much, Jay."

I threw my arms up in the air and said, "I've got amnesia! I don't even know who _I_ am! How am I supposed to know who they _think_ I am!?"

"Simple. They think you're a prince," Asuka said.

I stared at her. "Prince..."

Suddenly I had a headache. I put a hand to my head, grasping for the memories that one word stirred.

"Yep. A prince. Yuki Judai is the prince of the kingdom called Neospace. Locals say he ran away from home a couple weeks ago. They've been looking for him ever since." She laughed shortly. "Wow, these guys must be getting desperate. There's no way a guy like you could be him."

She laughed a bit at the thought, but I wasn't paying much attention. I closed my eyes and kept fighting for those memories she was dragging to the surface.

"Yuki Judai... Prince... Neospace..."

It sounded familiar, and being from another kingdom would explain a lot of things. Like why I didn't understand Kalmar's money system, or why their emergency number was new to me, or why the Neospacian way of saying the family name first felt familiar.

Her brother was staring, his eyes wide. "Uh, sis? What's he doing? H-he _couldn't_ be..."

She stared at me, too. I could feel their stares as I tried to remember. I wasn't used to doing chores. I wasn't used to anything about Kalmar. I was used to the idea of family-name-first, a Neospacian custom. I was...

"Oh!" Asuka's brother said, dragging me back to the real world. "Uh, Jaden... You've got company out there..." He sounded nervous. Apparently the thought that I might be a prince was weird.

"Y-yeah..." I lowered my hand and opened my eyes. A police car had just pulled up outside of Elise's house. "Well, thanks for letting me use your phone," I told them, then I headed back to Elise's place to talk to the police.

"Y-you're welcome," he said. Then he laughed.

* * *

I watched Jaden go, curious now. The way he had been acting, it was like he was trying to remember something. But that would mean...

_No way. It couldn't be. Could it...?_

There was no way a guy like him could be prince of anything, except maybe stupidity. But he did seem like he was trying to remember something while I had been telling him about Yuki Judai. If he wasn't him, then who was he? I decided right then and there that I was going to get to the bottom of this if it was the last thing I did.


End file.
